Music is Music: Third Coast Percussion
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Description
You may have heard of the band Wilco. Maybe fewer of you have heard of the band's drummer, Glenn Kotche. And probably fewer still, know that Kotche is a classically trained percussionist and composer. In this installment of Music is Music, we're taking a trip into Kotche's world through a piece called Wild Sound. The members in Chicago-based Third Coast Percussion approached Kotche back in 2008 to see if he'd be interested in collaboration. The vibe was there from the beginning, but concert performances and world tours with a rock band kind of got in the way. Cut to 2014, when Third Coast Percussion landed an ensemble-in-residence honor at the University Notre Dame. Stars aligned and the scheduling gods carved out time for Kotche and Co. to collaborate, dream up and refine the pieces of Wild Sound. Kotche had the idea to use some of the found sounds he's gathered through years of touring and taking walks in cities all over the world. The skeletal structure of the piece takes us on a journey from nature to city streets. Third Coast Percussion and Kotche also collaborated on the instrumentation used. Much of the sounds coming from the stage are from instruments that are built and evolve in real time while the music is performed. The ensemble assembled their tools and delighted patrons as part of the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra's Liquid Music Festival. From a bicycle wheel and ball bearings to sci-fi plexiglass sheets that were wired for sound, the stage was covered with their inspiration, melody and creativity. In less-capable hands, these makeshift instruments could have been a shamble, but Third Coast Percussion were up to the task, and Kotche's composition was transcendent. Check out an interview with the artists and the entire performance of Wild Sound.
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